Living in the now
“Living just for today relieves the burden of the past and the fear of the future.”
Basic Text, pp. 90-91
Thoughts of how bad it was-or could be-can consume our hopes for recovery.
Fantasies of how wonderful it was-or could be-can divert us from taking action in the
real world. That’s why, in Narcotics Anonymous, we talk about living and recovering
“just for today.”
In NA, we know that we can change. We’ve come to believe that our Higher Power
can restore the soundness of our minds and hearts. The wreckage of our past can be
dealt with through the steps. By maintaining our recovery, just for today, we can
avoid creating problems in the future.
Life in recovery is no fantasy. Daydreams of how great using was or how we can use
successfully in the future, delusions of how great things could be, overblown
expectations that set us up for disappointment and relapse-all are stripped of their
power by the program. We seek God’s will, not our own. We seek to serve others,
not ourselves. Our self-centeredness and the importance of how great things could
or should be for us disappears. In the light of recovery, we perceive the difference
between fantasy and reality.
Just for today: I am grateful for the principles of recovery and the new reality
they’ve given me.